Lorena Wiebes aims for overall victory in Simac Ladies Tour
# Lorena Wiebes Sets Sights on Overall Victory in Simac Ladies Tour
“I’m not thinking about it yet,” says Lorena Wiebes when asked to evaluate her 2023 season thus far. “This has been a dream year. I’ve been able to tick off some important goals. I currently have seventeen road victories to my name. Am I on track to match my record year of 2022? Back then, I had 23 victories. I still have the Simac Ladies Tour, GP Fourmies, and Binche on my schedule. The Simac Ladies Tour would have to go very well for me to get anywhere near 2022 (laughs). But the quality of my victories is much higher than three years ago.”
Wiebes, who has notched up an impressive 13 of her 17 wins at WorldTour level this season and was crowned national champion, considers the Simac Ladies Tour a home race. “As a Dutch rider, the Simac Ladies Tour is special to me. I already won the overall classification in 2022, and I would like to do that again,” she shares.
She points out that bonus seconds could play a crucial role in the race’s outcome. “The time trial is ten kilometres, so it will be important to limit the damage there. If Ellen Van Dijk starts, I expect she’ll want to say goodbye to her home country with a strong time trial performance.”
The first stage kicks off in Leuven, noted for its challenging elevation. “It would be nice if we could make it tough there,” Wiebes remarks, emphasizing the unpredictability of the course dependent on wind conditions. “The stage through Flevoland is 160.1 kilometres long. If there’s enough wind, it could be a very tough echelon race. In the Alkmaar stage, we will also be riding through the polder, where the echelon alarm could go off. I like that. It could be a way to create gaps in the general classification before the time trial.”
Wiebes adds how racing fuels her training regimen: “It’s more the other way around. The races serve to charge me up for the tough and long training blocks. This week I have to train for many hours. Then I think, for example, one more three-day training block, and then it’s the Simac Ladies Tour again.”
Reflecting on her journey, she shares, “After the Tour de France Femmes, I had a short holiday, and I feel recharged for the last part of the season. I’ll keep going until the end of October because I’m also doing the World Championships on gravel and the World Championships on the track. After that, it’ll really be time for a holiday.”
As the Simac Ladies Tour approaches, Wiebes is eager to seize the opportunity for both stage and overall victory, demonstrating her relentless ambition and passion for the sport.
